As the Birmingham Beer Festival takes place this weekend, Anna Blackaby finds out why female real ale fans could offer hope to the beleaguered pub industry.

Most brides-to-be set themselves the task of shedding a few pounds before their big day.

But not broadcaster and businesswoman Marverine Cole – she is on a mission to drink every real ale in Britain ahead of her wedding next year in a bid to find the top three to serve at the reception.

Ms Cole, who made her name as a journalist and presenter on the BBC and Sky News, is at the forefront of an increasingly influential movement of female real ale fans.

She blogs under the name Beer Beauty and has organised networking events where professional women in Birmingham can get together and learn about cask ales.

With the latest figures showing a decline in beer sales, women like Ms Cole could be one way of reversing that trend.

Cask beer sales are outperforming the rest of the market and real ale is gradually taking a bigger share of the total market.

According to the latest Cask Ale Report, sales of cask beer in 2009 remained stable on the previous year – the first time since 1994 they have not seen a decline – and cask ale’s share of the total beer market is up for the third consecutive year.

And research suggests that once women get a taste for real ale, they become enthusiastic supporters – women account for 15 per cent of real ale drinkers, but make up 23.4 per cent of the Campaign for Real Ale’s members.

Ms Cole said the pub industry could be missing a trick by ignoring female real ale fans.

She said: “The beer and the pub industry needs to wise up a bit more and market towards women – and there are great examples of companies that are doing that, such as Purity in Warwickshire.”

And as the pub industry moves towards offering food as a way to beat a decline in beer sales, Ms Cole said there was an opportunity to promote real ale sales to women at the same time.

“If they explain more about the real ale they are serving in the pub and market which ones go with different foods – that can make it more appealing to women,” she said.

Joe Roberts, cellar manager at Birmingham city centre pub The Wellington, famed for its selection of real ales, said he had seen a gradual increase in the number of female real ale drinkers in the five years he had been there.

“The image of real ale is changing,” he said. “It’s become far more accessible and the stigma of it being an old man’s drink is fading away as we get a lot of new brewers arriving.

“Companies like Two Towers and Purity are challenging the perception of real ale and making it more accessible so women are prepared to try it.

“The key to survival for pubs is that they need to work a bit harder, do things differently and move away from the tradition of having one or two real ales.

“They need to become more diverse and they need to increase the diversity in their clientele.”

* Birmingham Beer Festival takes place from October 28 - 30 at the Second City Suite on Sherlock Street.